Highly filled, energetic materials are normally produced by batch processes. Raw materials, liquid and solid, are added to a mixing vessel at appropriate points in the processing procedure, and the resulting batch of fluid product is cast from the vessel into a plurality of molds to solidify.
The disadvantages of batch production have long been recognized, and include high costs in capital investment and labor intensity, low production rates, long processing times, spillage, and safety concerns. Various continuous schemes have been proposed heretofore, but have had some disadvantage or deficiency which prevented their being completely satisfactory. For example, Fluke et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,296,043, proposed a continuous system, but in practice process control was a problem and the products failed to consistently meet chemical composition specification. Brunnberg, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,655, proposed another continuous operation, but this system also suffered from composition quality control problems in practice. Other proposed systems were found to be susceptible to hazardous incidents such as fire and/or accidental detonation. A summary of the state of the art is in "Chemical Engineering Progress", May, 1989, at pp. 55-61. All previously known continuous systems relied, in the end, on after-the-fact, wet chemical laboratory analysis of the product to determine whether it met composition specification, and the length of time required to perform such analyses produced results that were far too late to save substantial quantities of any cast product that wa determined by the analysis to be out of specification.
Accordingly, a main object of the invention is the provision of an improved method and apparatus for continuously producing fluid products, particularly highly filled, energetic materials.
Another object of the invention is to provide a continuous manufacturing and casting system which overcomes the difficulties associated with the prior art, and reliably results in products which meet composition specification.
Still another object of the invention is the provision of an improved, continuous system which accurately produces product to a composition specification without reliance on unacceptably slow wet chemical analysis, and with a minimum of waste.
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a continuous system which is safe in operation.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following detailed description which, together with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment of the invention for purposes of illustration only. For definition of the invention, reference will be made to the appended claims.